Supreme Court Rejects Trump’s Bid to Withhold Billions in USAID Foreign Aid

What Happened?

The Supreme Court rejected a key Trump administration request in its plans to restructure federal spending efforts.

A previous ruling upheld by the Court now advises the Trump administration to pay $2 billion to U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) contractors.

On Wednesday, the court rejected an emergency application filed by the Justice Department in a 5-4 vote after the issue was delayed for a week.

Although President Donald Trump put the funds on hold with a previous executive order, the court did not require immediate payment.

U.S. District Court Judge Amir Ali had issued a series of rulings that demanded the government unfreeze funds for USAID.

A divided Supreme Court upheld the lower court order but did not immediately say when the money must be released.

Chief Justice John Roberts issued a pause last week to allow the Court time to consider the Trump administration's request.

The White House could reportedly continue to dispute the issue in lower courts.

Why it Matters

The Trump administration has unleashed sweeping actions that instructed federal agencies to develop plans to eliminate employee positions.

President Trump has referred to these moves as 'large-scale reductions in force' and has called on department heads to submit the first phase of plans by March 13.

U.S. District Court Judge Carl Nichols removed his temporary block to make way for USAID layoffs after turning down the preliminary injunction sought by two labor unions.

Federal departments will have limited power to hire more staffers without DOGE being coordinated as part of Trump's executive order.

The Trump administration and DOGE have set ambitious goals of cutting at least $1 trillion from the $6.7 trillion federal budget.

Thousands of probationary employees have already been fired as attention turns toward career officials with civil service protection.

Trump has reportedly said he will not touch popular benefit programs throughout this process.

Exempted from these moves are law enforcement, national security, public safety, military positions, immigration enforcement, and U.S. Postal Service positions.

DOGE estimates it has saved $55 billion in spending so far.

How it Affects You

As many as 200,000 federal employees are still set to be affected by these mass cuts.

The Trump administration revealed that it is attempting to terminate more than 90% of the USAID foreign aid contracts.

Wednesday's decision will likely be the first of many that reach the Supreme Court this year.

Legal challenges stemming from the lower courts may continue to play out until constitutionality is solidified.